More Than Just a Ball Game, Basketball Was Invented to Teach Moral Lessons

The inventor of basketball, James Naismith, stands in a field carrying a ball and a peach basket, circa early 1900s. (Public domain)

When a young physical education teacher invented a new game in December 1891, he was looking for more than exercise. To James Naismith, basketball had loftier goals than that.

In 1891, while working at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School, later Springfield College, Naismith was given the assignment of developing a game that could be played indoors between the football and baseball seasons. The environment of the late 1800s was receptive to a new sport. Cities were overflowing with new immigrants who were getting their first taste of democracy. Health and sanitation conditions were deplorable; education was minimal. And from Naismith’s perspective, the need for a Christian witness to all these people was evident. Perhaps, he could reach this wide range of people with a new game. As a committed Christian, he wanted to invent a game that would provide a means for him and others to lead other young men to a personal relationship with God.

Pain Marked Life of Inventor

To understand basketball is to understand the life of its inventor. James Naismith was 9 years old when he was told that both of his parents were dying of typhoid fever. He was raised by his Uncle Peter, who was stern and demanding. Death always seemed near. His brother, Robbie, died at 18 from appendicitis. While he lay dying, Robbie implored Jim to kill him to ease the pain. “You wouldn’t see a rabbit suffer like this,” he screamed at Jim the night he died. Years later, while Naismith was instructing a gym class, one of his students flipped carelessly, landed on his head, and died. And his wife, Maude, who also became gravely ill with typhoid yet survived, became deaf because of her ordeal. To James Naismith, these events were things that happened within God’s providence. He saw his personal experiences as part of life in a fallen world.

This philosophy of life compelled him to choose a life’s work that would help reduce the seemingly ever-present evil in the world and to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God. With that goal in mind in his career, James Naismith set out to meet the needs of the world in which he lived.

A model of Mr. Naismith’s original basketball hoop. What began as a recreational activity to teach life lessons, quickly became a beloved sport. (Cloudy Design/Shutterstock)

Theology Meets Physical Education

James Naismith was born in Ramsay Township, Ontario, in 1861. Because Naismith had dropped out of school for five years, he did not graduate from high school until he was 22 years old. Yet that late date for pursuing his degree held advantages for him. He was more directed in his career goals, was a better student, and was much more mature and purposeful about studying than many of his classmates. While some pursued college study with little internal direction, Naismith was focused. He was intent on becoming a minister.

As a college student in his mid-20s, he turned down the recruiting of several athletics teams. To James Naismith, academics came first. Later, after making sure his schoolwork was in order, he participated on the rugby, fencing, and gymnastics teams. After finishing his undergraduate work, he became a graduate student at Presbyterian College, in 1887. While studying theology, he served the fledgling Montreal YMCA and McGill University as a physical education instructor. But Naismith never finished his seminary training. In 1890, he joined Luther Gulick and Amos Alonzo Stagg at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. In Springfield, Naismith found a niche as a Christian who wanted to use sports as a focus for ministry.

And one way he did that was by inventing basketball.

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The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School in Springfield, Mass., where Naismith worked as a physical education instructor in the late 19th century. (Public domain)

Creation of a Game

In an attempt to create a new sport, Naismith first used elements of childhood games he played on the farm. However, none of the games and activities he tried attracted the interest of students. After their initial experimenting, both Gulick and Naismith concluded that something special was needed.

After many trials, Naismith finally stumbled onto a simple game of 13 rules. While most of the rules reflected regulations that were used in other games, such as movement of the ball, determination of fouls, and out-of-bounds, Naismith came up with the one essential ingredient that would make the game distinct from all others: the concept of tossing a ball at an elevated goal on a soft arc. The new ingredient, derived from an old childhood game called duck-on-a-rock (children would attempt to knock a softball-sized rock off a boulder from 10 to 15 feet), provided a basis for flexible offensive maneuvers that would allow the new sport to adapt to changes over the next century. Soon to be called “basket ball” because Naismith used two peach baskets as goals, the game became an immediate hit with the men at the YMCA.

Day of Invention

It was December 21, 1891, when Naismith rushed into his office and grabbed a soccer ball. Now he needed a goal. He asked Pop Stebbins, the building superintendent, for a couple of square boxes. He didn’t have them, but he had something else—two old peach baskets. Naismith tacked the rules to the gym bulletin board and promised the class that if this new game failed, he would not try any more experiments. Captains chose teams of nine members, and Naismith selected two center men. He tossed the ball up between them, and they jumped for it to start the new game. Because the men had never played before, Naismith called many fouls for holding, pushing, and tripping. After two fouls, the player had to sit on the sideline until the next goal occurred. When the game ended, everyone wanted to play some more.

In 1892, a group of women teachers from a nearby school asked Naismith if they could play, too. “I don’t see why not,” he said. In one game, Naismith, as referee, was shocked when he called a foul and one of the women protested forcefully. But he remembered that game clearly. One of the women, Maude Sherman, later became his wife.

A photograph of the exterior of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. (Alexander Sviridov/Shutterstock)

Beyond the Game

For Naismith, the invention of basketball was more than an attempt to develop a new game. It was also a means to educate people about moral and Christian values. He wanted to develop an activity that would not only be recreational and appeal to the play instincts but would also educate the athletes in certain values. Naismith felt that all play and game activity was part of a larger classroom. And he was convinced that placing an individual in a game environment would give him an educational experience. Basketball, Naismith felt, would be a self-instructional activity.

As basketball developed in the 20th century, however, it changed from what Naismith had in mind. It became less a self-directed activity and more a coach-directed game. In response to these trends, Naismith became rigid. He rejected most attempts to change the rules of play to adapt to the demands of a changing athletic culture. Naismith felt that the game as he invented it would develop each player on its own and needed no human intervention. The game itself would nurture the athlete.

By 1936, basketball was so popular around the world that it became an Olympic sport. Naismith, who attended the opening ceremonies, was allowed to hand out medals to the winning teams.

Enshrined Forever in Sports

As the inventor of basketball, Naismith made a contribution to American sport that is truly unique. Basketball is the only major sport strictly invented in America. Football, baseball, and hockey seem to have evolved from earlier games over a long period of time. It would appear that Naismith’s creation reflected not only society as it was in 1891, but also the needs of James Naismith, the orphan and the Christian with a mission, as he interacted with society.

Although Naismith gained a medical degree several years after inventing basketball and went on to teach at the University of Kansas for 40 years, it is through his one creative act, the invention of basketball, that Naismith will be enshrined forever in the life of sport. He died November 28, 1939, in Lawrence, Kansas.

A hand-stitched basketball made from eight leather panels, early 1900s. (gualtiero boffi/Shuttesrtock)

Fun Facts

• More than 27 million Americans over age 6 play basketball at least once per year.
• There are more than 1,400 basketball teams at four-year colleges. Of these, about 350 are NCAA Division 1 teams.
• One percent of male high school players get into a Division 1 college. One percent of NCAA players get into the NBA.
• No NBA team has gone undefeated for an entire season. But in 1995–96, the Chicago Bulls only lost 10 games.
• Michael Jordan scored an average of 30 points per game. LeBron James scores an average of 27.
• Nike sells 93% of all basketball shoes. Under Armor holds the number two spot, with 4% of sales.
• The first slam dunk occurred 45 years after basketball’s invention. Since 1996, NBA players have performed more than 210,000 dunks.

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.